Interpol = International Criminal Police Organization and others have conducted simultaneous crackdowns on illegal trade in wild animals and plants in more than 120 countries around the world, arresting more than 900 people.
The number of seized items is more than double that of last year, and the authorities are increasing their vigilance as smuggling is increasing due to the relaxation of border measures against the new Corona.
INTERPOL and WCO = World Customs Organization will cooperate with relevant organizations in each country for about a month until the end of October this year in 125 countries around the world, including Japan, to prevent illegal trade of wild animals and plants. I cracked down.
As a result, at the airport in Thailand, a total of 81 "Indian star turtles", which are designated as an internationally endangered species of wild fauna and flora, were seized from the candy bags of passengers' luggage.
In addition, about 1,200 iguanas and lizards were found in a box brought in from Malaysia at an airport in India, according to Interpol. He went up, identified more than 930 people as suspects, and arrested them.
The authorities are increasing their vigilance that smuggling is increasing due to the relaxation of new corona border measures in various places, the increase in traffic, and the fact that e-commerce has become active and transactions have become difficult to understand.
Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO, said, "The corona crisis has further diversified the forms of transactions such as digitalization. Further international cooperation is important for the protection of rare animals and plants."